Betsy Kling, chief meteorologist at 3News, says it’s all true, to the tune of 50 to more than 100 inches last year in the East Side compared to the 40 to 60 the West got.
“Blame Lake Erie,” Kling says, adding that Northeast Ohio’s geography also helps churn up the lake effect snow that hits the East so much harder.
As colder air west and northwest of the Great Lakes moves east, it picks up moisture from the warmer bodies of water, releasing precipitation as it hits land. Since the Cleveland area’s shoreline juts up northeast after the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, the eastward-moving air smacks into areas such as Chardon, which are also colder since they’re at a higher elevation.
“The colder temperatures are key to precipitation type and accumulation,” Kling says. “If we didn’t have the lake, we wouldn’t have nearly as much snow. It would probably be more like Columbus in terms of annual snowfall, which averages to about 22 inches per year.”
Status: True
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